On 19 April 2023, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming had a meeting in Beijing with State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
According to Qin Gang, the SCO is an important platform uniting regional countries for the sake of maintaining regional security and stability and facilitating common development and prosperity.
He noted that President of China Xi Jinping had summed up the results of the Organisation’s successful experience at the 2022 SCO Summit in Samarkand, and that he had reached an important consensus with the leaders of member states on expanding cooperation in various fields. The Chinese side voiced its willingness to strengthen cooperation with other member states, to actively implement Xi Jinping’s initiatives on global development, global security and global civilisation, and to work together on creating a closer community with a common destiny.
He expressed hope that the SCO would energetically promote the principles of the Shanghai Spirit, strengthen mutual political trust, deepen cooperation in various fields, staunchly uphold international justice, facilitate the Organisation’s expansion, modernise its internal structure and ensure the effective work of various mechanisms.
Qin Gang praised the work of the Secretary-General and the Secretariat, and added that, as an SCO founding member and the country hosting the Secretariat, China would continue to support the work of the Secretary-General and the Secretariat.
Zhang Ming informed Qin Gang about priority activities of the SCO Secretariat, including efforts to facilitate the implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of member states, support for the organisation of the main annual SCO events held by the presiding state, as well as active involvement in improving the SCO mechanism and expanding the Organisation. He noted that the Organisation would hold more offline events in light of China’s optimised and adjusted policy to prevent and combat the pandemic and to ease entry restrictions, and that the Secretariat would duly fulfil its role in full measure.
Zhang Ming thanked President of China Xi Jinping and the leaders of member states for the trust accorded him. He thanked China for supporting the work of the Secretariat and noted that he would continue to implement the SCO Summit’s decisions, prepare major events, actively assist in modernising the Organisation and consistently improve the work of the Secretariat to facilitate the development of the SCO.
SCO Deputy Secretaries-General also took part in the meeting.